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Background   Haemoproteus  parasites (Haemosporida, Haemoproteidae) are cosmopolitan in birds and recent molecular studies indicate enormous genetic diversity of these pathogens, which cause diseases in non-adapted avian hosts. However, life-cycles remain unknown for the majority of  Haemoproteus  species. Information on their exoerythrocytic development is particularly fragmental and controversial. This study aimed to gain new knowledge on life-cycle of the widespread blood parasite  Haemoproteus majoris .    Methods   Turdus pilaris  and  Parus major  naturally infected with lineages hPHYBOR04 and hPARUS1 of  H. majoris , respectively, were wild-caught and the parasites were identified using microscopic examination of gametocytes and PCR-based testing. Bayesian phylogeny was used to determine relationships between  H. majoris  lineages. Exoerythrocytic stages (megalomeronts) were reported using histological examination and laser microdissection was applied to isolate single megalomeronts for genetic analysis.  Culicoides impunctatus  biting midges were experimentally exposed in order to follow sporogonic development of the lineage hPHYBOR04.    Results  Gametocytes of the lineage hPHYBOR04 are indistinguishable from those of the widespread lineage hPARUS1 of  H. majoris , indicating that both of these lineages belong to the  H. majoris  group. Phylogenetic analysis supported this conclusion. Sporogony of the lineage hPHYBOR04 was completed in  C. impunctatus  biting midges. Morphologically similar megalomeronts were reported in internal organs of both avian hosts. These were big roundish bodies (up to 360 μm in diameter) surrounded by a thick capsule-like wall and containing irregularly shaped cytomeres, in which numerous merozoites developed. DNA sequences obtained from single isolated megalomeronts confirmed the identification of  H. majoris .    Conclusions  Phylogenetic analysis identified a group of closely related  H. majoris  lineages, two of which are characterized not only by morphologically identical blood stages, but also complete sporogonic development in  C. impunctatus  and development of morphologically similar megalomeronts. It is probable that other lineages belonging to the same group would bear the same characters and phylogenies based on partial  cytb  gene could be used to predict life-cycle features in avian haemoproteids including vector identity and patterns of exoerythrocytic merogony. This study reports morphologically unique megalomeronts in naturally infected birds and calls for research on exoerythrocytic development of haemoproteids to better understand pathologies caused in avian hosts.

The life-cycle of the avian haemosporidian parasite Haemoproteus majoris, with emphasis on the exoerythrocytic and sporogonic development